I think Austin Rivers is a stud and anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn't understand that this is the son of a man who has turned Rajon Rondo into arguably the best pure point guard in the league and will not let his son fail. Rivers has all the skill in the world and just because he doesn't jump out of the gym doesn't make him an incompetent athlete, I can't wait until he gets into the league and punishes every team that passed up on him, hopefully he's doing it as a raptor.

How can you say waiters is a safe bet with his background? I'm sorry but a kid from duke won't be in the news for negative reasons. Not so sure about this kid from philly that didn't start a game in college.

How can you say waiters is a safe bet with his background? I'm sorry but a kid from duke won't be in the news for negative reasons. Not so sure about this kid from philly that didn't start a game in college.

You mean Redick didn't get pulled over for DUI right before the draft?

How can you say waiters is a safe bet with his background? I'm sorry but a kid from duke won't be in the news for negative reasons. Not so sure about this kid from philly that didn't start a game in college.

I think it's safe to say that just about every player in this draft has "experts" who speak just as passionately about their skills/upside as "experts" who speak equally as passionately about their flaws/negatives. I don't think there are any 'sure things' in this draft, especially when you start speaking relative to their projected draft position, hence all the teams looking at moving up, down or out of the lottery (and even the top-10)!

FORD: Lillard is a willing passer. Rivers isn't and will never be. Lillard made dramatic improvements from year to year. I thought Rivers was the exact player in college that he was in high school. Lillard is a team player. He was the second most efficient player in college basketball DESPITE being the only decent player on his entire roster; teams game planned to stop him and him alone every night. I just don't see Rivers ever being anywhere near as unselfish or efficient. I think Rivers will be shocked at the athleticism and length at his position. He'll try to do the same things at which he excelled in high school, spend a lot of time on the bench, get into it with his coach and teammates, get traded in a year or two to a desperate team, put up huge numbers for a cellar-dweller for a year or two, make some money, and eventually, teams will realize he can't be the alpha dog on a winning team.

SIMMONS: Other than that, you're a huge Austin Rivers fan.

FORD: I honestly think Rivers is the one guy I wouldn't touch in the lottery. Too toxic for team chemistry, doesn't have the same physical tools to make it worth it.

Sorry, I just don't want a team with chemistry issues. I'd take Waiters over Rivers any day.

If I'm drafting a combo guard for the Raptors, there's three things I'm looking for: shooting, defense, and pick-and-roll ability. Obviously, shooting is no problem for Rivers. But defense is clearly well below average at this point, and he should have all the makings of a good pick-and-roll player but struggled with that a lot, both in terms of finishing as well as finding open teammates. His pick-and-roll game actually reminds me a lot of Bayless... just makes up his mind far too early (Granted, he's much younger and could improve his decision-making). Waiters, on the other hand, is a comparable shooter, but is far better at both defense and running the pick-and-roll. Waiters isn't by any means my favorite guy in this draft, but head-to-head between Waiters and Rivers, it's not even close.

I think Austin Rivers is a stud and anyone who says otherwise obviously doesn't understand that this is the son of a man who has turned Rajon Rondo into arguably the best pure point guard in the league and will not let his son fail.

He better hope he gets drafted by Boston, then. 'Cause Daddy ain't helping him if he comes to Toronto with his gigantic ego in tow.

Definition of Statistics: The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures.